The Committee of Experts for the Assessment of Measures Against Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL Committee) has begun a visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina, where it will hold a series of meetings with representatives of institutions from all levels of government until the end of the month. An introductory meeting was held today in Sarajevo, which was opened by BiH Minister of Security Nenad Nešić and Deputy Executive Secretary of Moneyval, Andrew Lebrun.
The aim of the visit is for representatives of MONEYVAL to talk with representatives of different levels of government, law enforcement agencies, NGOs and the private sector in order to get a more complete picture of the situation in the areas that are the subject of evaluation.
Nešić informed those present about the measures taken in the past period in this area, among which the most important is the Law on Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorist Activities, which was adopted by the Council of Ministers on the proposal of the BiH Ministry of Security and referred to further procedure.
This law is harmonized with the directives and regulations of the EU in this area and harmonizes the system of prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing in Bosnia and Herzegovina with FATF and Moneyvala standards.
“I would like to emphasize that our activities and efforts are aimed at eliminating threats and risks that have been recognized as such through all relevant assessments. First of all, I mean threats from organized crime and the mutual interaction between corruption and organized crime, which represents one of the most dominant factors that threatens the development and economic stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We confidently claim that the Ministry of Security of BiH is a leader in reform processes, fulfilling tasks and improving the legal framework in the area of preventing money laundering and financing terrorist activities, fulfilling its goals and obligations in terms of harmonizing and drafting regulations relevant to this area,” said Nešić.
The implementation of FATF recommendations is extremely important because otherwise there is a danger of being placed on the “gray list”, which would have a negative impact on the credibility of Bosnia and Herzegovina in international relations, a decrease in investments and a difficult flow of international trade, the Ministry of Security of BiH announced.
